Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Sunday lauded the dignity of labour — seen as an extension of the principle of equality — in the US, asserting that India will be able to unleash its power and take on China when the nation begins to respect skills.
Respect for skills was a recurrent theme of his interventions during an interactive session at the University of Texas on the first leg of his ongoing US tour as LoP. He used a diaspora event in Dallas, Texas, to dwell on the ideological battle with the RSS-BJP and emphasise the magnitude of the Lok Sabha poll results which, according to him, had lifted the fear factor that weighed on Indian polity for the past decade.
"The RSS believes that India is one idea. And, we believe that India is a multiplicity of ideas. We believe that everybody should be allowed to participate, …dream and …given space regardless of caste, language, religion, tradition, history. This is the fight. And, the fight was crystallised in the election when millions of people in India clearly understood that the Prime Minister of India is attacking the Constitution of India."
Referring to a meeting he had with some Indian truck drivers in Dallas before arriving at the university, Rahul said when asked what they liked most about the US: "The idea of equality, that a truck driver is respected. As a truck driver in India, there is no way we could get respect." The Congress MP said: "Equality is a very powerful idea, an idea that can help India. Take back the idea of equality and fairness. You are a bridge."
Returning to the subject of skills, Rahul said: "Many people say that India has a skills problem. I don’t think India has a problem with skills. I think India has a problem with respect for skills. India doesn’t respect people who possess skills. But I don’t believe there is any shortage of skills in India."
He also dwelt on manufacturing and how India, the US and Europe have an employment problem because they shifted focus from production to consumption.
On how he views politics 20 years after entering Parliament and into his fifth term, Rahul said: "Now I am coming to the conclusion that listening is much more important than speaking." He said listening is not just the act of hearing what someone is saying but putting oneself in his/her situation to understand the deeper dynamics.
On his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul said it evolved as a response to the reality the Opposition was facing at that time when all avenues of communication in the country were shut to it. Rahul said an unplanned consequence of the Yatra was the introduction of "the idea of love" in politics.
He also touched upon the alleged growth of monopolies in India, capture of institutions by the RSS and the ideological differences with the Sangh on the status of women. "The BJP and the RSS believe women should be restricted to a particular role. They should stay at home, cook food, they should not talk too much, and we believe that women should be allowed to aspire to whatever they want to do."
Reacting to Rahul's comments, BJP leader and Union textiles minister Giriraj Singh said: “Enemy countries China and Pakistan don’t need to have their brand ambassadors as Rahul, the leader of the Opposition, is working for them,” Singh said, calling him "desh ka dushman".
